


If I Have To Leave You Alone

by citrusfriend



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Presents, Developing Friendships, Fluff, Gen, Not Beta Read, POV Pepper Potts, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Pre-Iron Man 1, Tony Stark Has A Heart, angst if you squint, but like awkward fluff, prompt: cookies, ssficmas, we die like fucking morons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-02
Updated: 2018-12-02
Packaged: 2019-09-05 13:13:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16811329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/citrusfriend/pseuds/citrusfriend
Summary: Pepper was definitely overthinking this. She had been sitting in this car for twenty goddamn minutes and if she sat there any longer, she’d lose it.Before she could psyche herself out, she quickly opened her car door, the box of cookies held carefully in her arms, and made her way towards the door.





	If I Have To Leave You Alone

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for ssficmas, day one: cookies  
> I wrote this in an hour and barely edited so is it shit? Who's to say

Pepper likes to think she had learned a lot about Tony Stark in the two and a half years she had been his PA. She had expected a lot when she accepted the job, and had been resigned to withstanding sexual harassment or general disrespect until she quit. Instead, she found herself divvying out the vast majority of the harassment and disrespect, to Mr. Stark’s apparent delight.

She’d learned a lot about Tony Stark in the past two and a half years. He refused to sleep in the same room as any of his one night stands, opting to instead sneak to his workshop, where he tended to forgot that anyone else was in the house. He hated his coffee black, but drank it that way often because he never remembered to add cream and sugar. The phrase ‘surprise me’ was not actually a trick phrase; he just genuinely liked knowing what Pepper would choose in regards to his food, drink, or outfit. When he became particularly immersed in a project, he would slip into what sounded like Italian and Spanish. Outside of sex, he hated it when anyone other than Colonel Rhodes touched him. He hated being handed things. He was remarkably competent as a businessman, despite his vices.

He was always alone on Christmas.

That last fact was something she was only recently aware of. While she was prompting Mr. Stark to sign the last of the documents she needed to file before she left for the holidays, Colonel Rhodes had been trying to coax Mr. Stark into joining him and his family.

“C’mon, Tones, you know Mama would love to have you. She’s been calling both of us nonstop-”

“You know what I’m gonna say, honeybear,” Mr. Stark had said flippantly as he flicked through the documents. “The ‘bots and I have plans.”

Rhodey had persisted, but from the look on his face, he already knew he had lost.

All of this brought her here, sitting in her car in front of Mr. Stark’s house and glaring at the box of cookies as if they personally wronged her.

It was stupid. She knew it was stupid. She had gotten them from a wonderful bakery that she knew Mr. Stark loved, but she still felt…. inadequate. After all, purchased cookies hardly seemed recompense for a man who would be spending Christmas with only his ‘bots. No matter how much he--and Pepper, quite honestly--loved them, not even JARVIS were substitutes for humans, particularly not on a holiday that focused so much on family. Not when the anniversary of his parents death was only a few days ago.

Hence, cookies. After this delivery, she would be leaving to fly to Vermont to visit her family, but Pepper wanted to offer something, at least, to the man who was quickly becoming a close friend to her.

Sure, he was still her boss, and she was far too conscious of that fact, but she was fond of him nonetheless and Mr. Stark was hardly a stickler for professionalism. No one deserved to be alone on Christmas, but since he would be, she could only hope the cookies were a decent middle ground between ‘concerned friend’ and ‘employee.’

Pepper was definitely overthinking this. She had been sitting in this car for twenty goddamn minutes and if she sat there any longer, she’d lose it.

Before she could psyche herself out, she quickly opened her car door, the box of cookies held carefully in her arms, and made her way towards the door.

“Welcome, Ms. Potts,” JARVIS greeted politely as she entered, though after working with him both for work and for Mr. Stark, she was familiar enough with him that she detected a hint of confusion in his artificial voice.

“Hey, JARVIS. Is Mr. Stark busy?”

“He is not. However,” he paused briefly, “he is intoxicated.”

Pepper paused in the hallway. Generally, an intoxicated Mr. Stark was also a horny Mr. Stark, but if he says he isn’t busy…

JARVIS broke through her hesitation. “Sir says to meet him in the kitchen.”

Alright. She had to backtrack a bit, as she had previously been heading towards to workshop, but she entered the kitchen quickly. Mr. Stark was indeed there, lounging on the counter near the fridge nursing a bottle of whiskey.

A smile broke out across his face as she entered his view. “Pep! Aren’t you flying out today?”

She nodded, taking a tentative step forward. There was something a bit… off about Mr. Stark, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. Still, she forced herself to continue on, undeterred.

_ He’s frustrating as hell, but he deserves to know I care. _

“In a couple hours. I just wanted to stop buy to give you these,” she held out the box, tilting it so he could she the bakery label at the top, “as a early Christmas gift,” she explained, praying she didn’t look at awkward as she felt.

It didn’t seem to actually matter, since Mr. Stark’s eyes were wide and entirely focused on the brown box in her extended arms. For once, his eyes were unguarded in their shock, and Pepper found herself relaxing some. This wasn’t rejection.

“You… got me those?” His tone was stiff, frozen, and gave nothing away, and as the curtains fell behind his eyes, her nerves came back full force.

She wasn’t exactly worried he would fire her, but she liked the camaraderie they had and she didn’t want to ruin it by pushing too far. “I can’t bake, and didn’t really know what else to get you, so I got these.” She placed them on the island, as if distancing herself from them would do anything to quench her nervousness.

Only, that backfired, because then those inscrutable eyes focused on her instead. He slowly lowered his bottle from where it had been hovering by his mouth to the counter. A smile, fake and forced, spread across his face and it looked like a mockery compared to the sweet one he wore when she first came in. Before she tried to give him something. Shit. Maybe homemade would be better. Or would that have been too personal? She has no idea. Friends and gifts weren’t something she was well-versed in. This was a mistake.

“Is this coming from my employee or from my friend?” His voice was still too even, like it was when someone got too handsy at a party and he hadn’t drunk enough to not mind.

“Whichever one gets you to stop looking like that.” Shit. Was that too much, he liked sass, but maybe-

The mask finally broke, and Pepper relaxed imperceptibly. Disdain would be better than frozen calculation. The smile slipped into something softer, shier, and he finally looked away.

“Well,” he cleared his throat and blinked and oh no, were those  _ tears _ , “I hope my friend has a good Christmas.”

Pepper wasn’t exactly sure what was happening here, but she was relieved that they had reached something of an understanding. “And I hope mine gets some sleep instead of working until he drops,” she prods lightly. Only years in the business world kept her from twisting her fingers in residual anxiety.

Mr. Stark rolls his eyes, and yes, those were indeed unshed tears. He must be drunker than she thought. “Will that be _ all?” _ he sighed with mock annoyance.

She shifted into the normal professionalism she held during work, but a smile tugged at her lips. “Well, if you’re asking, there are some proposals you could look over-”

Mr. Stark lifted his hands in exaggerated despair, narrowing missing the whiskey bottle. “Come on, Pep, it’s almost Christmas! Let me be!”

Pepper raised an eyebrow, actively fighting a smile now. “Will  _ that  _ be all, Mr. Stark?” She was mocking him and he knew it.

“No. Call me Tony.  _ Then  _ that will be all, Ms. Potts.”

A small laugh blew past her lips. “Merry Christmas, Mr. Stark.”


End file.
